Tom

At the end of the July heatwave we headed to the small village of Buckden near Skipton and the relatively small Buckden Camping site on a working farm. Joining us were 4 other families totalling 10 adults and 10 children for our largest group camping trip yet. We loaded up the car and hitched up the trailer in scorching heat, and set off for the drive of just over an hour to Buckden. On arrival we setup camp in stifling humidity just before the heavens opened and we spent the rest of the weekend dressed from head to toe in waterproofs. Read on to find out whether our spirits were dampened!

Our first camping trip of the year was three nights at Wood Nook campsite in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales, a few miles from Skipton. We arrived on Friday evening with our trailer tent in tow, excited to kick-start our camping season – our first as a family of four. The approach to the campsite through Threshfields and Skirethorns is down a winding single track road with few passing places which could be tricky in a large motorhome, but is very picturesque and set our expectations high for the campsite.

We spent Early May Bank Holiday at Dafarn Rhos campsite on Anglesey. A well maintained family-friendly site with direct access to the beach. It’s conveniently located quite close to where you’ll arrive from the mainland but well placed for exploring the island. Read on to find out more about the campsite and our recommendations for places to visit.

Our first camping trip abroad! Some said we were crazy to attempt this with a 2-year-old and a 10-month-old, but we put a lot more planning into this trip than into most of our shorter UK breaks (perhaps too much planning because by the time we were ready to book everything our preferred ferry crossings were all full!). Read on to find out whether our first foray onto the continent with a trailer-tent was a success and whether we’ll be attempting it again…

For a weekend of camping with friends we chose Bridge Villa for its convenient location between the two families. We took the Friday off work and travelled down during the day. After an uneventful journey, the last few miles after leaving the M40 took us through some rural picturesque Oxfordshire villages. Unusually for most campsites, at Bridge Villa you just turn off the main road and you’re straight into the site among the pitches. There’s no long single track driveway winding through fields to approach the site, here you stay right in the heart of the village.

As happy campervanners we felt like we always needed the electric hook-up. We didn’t have a leisure battery and our fridge only ran off 240v mains electricity so without a hook-up we couldn’t power the fridge and were worried that we’d run down the van’s only battery if we left the lights on too long and wouldn’t be able to start the engine in the morning. As happy trailer-tenters we don’t have a fridge (or any battery at all) and we’ve started to realise how much we limit our options if we only camp in locations that have a hook-up available – especially at busy times as the electric pitches are always first to go. Also, some sites charge quite a premium for the hook-up which is disproportionate to the small amount of electricity we consume so we’ve started to look at alternative power sources to broaden our campsite options.

I’ll admit that I like coffee. I might even admit that I can, occasionally, be a coffee snob. I like good coffee. I can’t stand terrible coffee (“instant” doesn’t even count as coffee in my book). When I’m camping, a great cup of coffee in the morning with breakfast can be a nice little luxury.

Over the years I’ve been through several different methods of making my coffee on the campsite, looking for an option that’s portable, easy to use and clean and produces a tasty cup. Here are my thoughts on the various options available…

Our weekend at Pexton Moor Farm campsite marked our first camping trip without the Mazda Bongo campervan, This was a test run with our new Camp-let Concorde trailer tent (click here to read about our reasons for the change). This was also likely to be our first and last camping trip of the year – we have not managed to fit in as many camping breaks as usual this year.